Voters in Ireland, on May 26, rejected, by a landslide, their country’s ban on abortion, which was one of the world’s most restrictive – it denied the procedure even to women who had been victims of rape or incest.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., where abortion is legal, the Trump administration and conservative politicians – aided and abetted by the religious right – are doing everything they can to make it impossible for women to exercise our right to choose, even threatening to cut off funding to medical facilities if a provider tells a pregnant woman, at her request, where she can secure an abortion.

Ironically, these are the same groups who strenuously oppose any effort to limit access to even the most lethal of firearms, seeing that as an impingement on the rights and freedom of American citizens. Apparently, in their view, women’s autonomy and control over our bodies represent more of a threat to society than assault weapons.

Ellen D. Murphy

Portland